Saturday, 15 May 2010

Must Read Article: To the Malays, What More Do YOU Want from the Chinese ?

".....I find myself in a strangely odd position – an Indian speaking up for the Chinese.

To me they ( the Chinese) are the LEAST nihilistic of people.

There is much we have learnt from the Chinese economic model based on hard work, perseverance and skills development

Since 1969, the Chinese have seen the New Economic Policy (NEP) at work and not at work.

The Chinese with much public grace and equally much private grumbling have largely accepted the pain of economic restructuring.

They still account for easily 80% of the income tax revenue of the country.

We must RESPECT them for their singular ability to create new wealth and not be merely consumers of old wealth.

We must RESPECT them for their resourcefulness and for their incredible pertinacity in the face of adversity.

We must COMPLIMENT them their innate understanding of the importance of personal savings in the economic life of an individual and of the investment opportunities that arise out of deferred gratification.

We must THANK them for showing us in practical terms what self-reliance and self-sacrifice really means.

The fact that the Chinese migrant is a prized economic asset is indisputable.

That this prized asset cannot be got for free is also indisputable.

It is also indisputable that he comes with the political rights of a human being – the right to prosper WITH DIGNITY.

But No! All this is NOT ‘what more the Chinese want’.

It’s more, much more than that!

"What more the Chinese want" is FOR THE ROT TO STOP!!

They can clearly see with eyes teared by 5,000 years of the painful tide of relentless history. A history filled with upheavals, turmoil and revolution has given them an inbuilt ‘antenna’ that warns them when a society is approaching decay, decline and disaster.

The Chinese have sounded the alarm bell for all of us.

What MORE do we want from them?....."- Howl Pillai

CENTER FOR POLICY INITIATIVES

What MORE do we want from the Chinese?

by

Howl Pillai

Friday, 14 May 2010

I find myself in a strangely odd position – an Indian speaking up for the Chinese.

It has recently been asked of them: “What more do the Chinese want?”

If it were merely rhetorical, I will defend the right to ask questions of such a nature in the name of free speech and healthy discourse.

Unfortunately it is not a question. It is a blatant threat.

The politicians behind the threat have clearly identified themselves. They have also now shown their hand. They are shamelessly indulging in the gutter politics of communalism.

A demonstration 10,000-stronghad been planned for May 13 in Terengganu. We should reject this threat for the same reason we reject a bribe.

Racial politics and corruption are slowly and surely destroying the very fabric of nationhood. A country that was put together carefully with effort, toil and sacrifice deserves better.

We must therefore entirely reject the threat and answer the question only in its rhetorical form: What more do the Chinese want?

Since 1969, the Chinese have seen the New Economic Policy (NEP) at work and not at work. But for all its faults, the NEP has distributed great wealth and provided unheard of opportunities to create a Malay middle class and super-rich elite of Umnoputras.

It has also allayed the fears of the Malay man-in-the-street that he/she will be ‘lost in the world’ (Tak akan Melayu hilang di dunia).

The Chinese with much public grace and equally much private grumbling have largely accepted the pain of economic restructuring.

They still account for easily 80% of the income tax revenue of the country. But in this same period, true to their kind, they have girded their loins and redoubled their efforts.

Ever so quick to seize new opportunities, they have continued to prosper in spite of the excesses of the NEP. Surely there is nothing in this world and no religious or secular law that prevents a man or woman from prospering economically through the sweat of his brow or the straining of his sinews or the mental acuity of his business dealings.

We may not like the Chinese trait of applying themselves diligently to the task at hand and to the exclusion of all others; or their fiercely competitive nature; their kiasu-ness; their calculative frugality; their risk-taking; their business shrewdness; their culinary indulgences and their relentless pursuit of investments, returns and wealth in all its myriad forms.

But remember, they too may not like our traits of indifference, impracticalness, lebih kurang-ism … the list both ways is endless.

But we must respect them for their singular ability to create new wealth and not be merely consumers of old wealth.

We must respect them for their resourcefulness and for their incredible pertinacity in the face of adversity.

We must compliment them their innate understanding of the importance of personal savings in the economic life of an individual and of the investment opportunities that arise out of deferred gratification.

We must thank them for showing us in practical terms what self-reliance and self-sacrifice really means.

Surely, they more than anyone else have shown that the secret of capitalism lies in its unsurpassed ability to promote capital formation that fuels ever more new ventures and so ad infinitum.

They have shown us also that wealth has a generational purpose and that it is linked to a vision of the future we have for ourselves, our families, our society and the country we live in.

To me they are the LEAST nihilistic of people.

There is MUCH we have learnt from the Chinese economic model based on hard work, perseverance and skills development.

True, the pursuit of wealth and economic success is often accompanied by greed and avarice. Which race in the world is free from such follies and frailties?

The fact that the Chinese migrant is a prized economic asset is indisputable. That this prized asset cannot be got for free is also indisputable.

It is also indisputable that he comes with the political rights of a human being – the right to prosper with dignity.

But No!

All this is NOT ‘what more the Chinese want’. It’s more, much more than that!

I have every reason to believe that the Chinese, who so often go about their tasks with one eye on the future, have come to the inevitable conclusion that if left unchecked, the politicians of this country will be the ruin of us all.

The Chinese are not Neros to helplessly fiddle while Rome burns.

‘What more the Chinese want’ is for the rot to STOP.

They can clearly see with eyes teared by 5,000 years of the painful tide of relentless history. A history filled with upheavals, turmoil and revolution has given them an inbuilt ‘antenna’ that warns them when a society is approaching decay, decline and disaster.

They know that a rotten tree will not bear good fruits for long. They know there will be nothing left to share with or without the NEP and its sketchy successor, the NEM.

They know that zero, simply put, is indivisible.

The Chinese have sounded the alarm bell for all of us. What more do we want from them?

2 comments:

yapchongyee
said...

This si the first time that I am privileged to read words of praise from a fellow of our fellow minority races. Welcome to our mutual club.

To my Malay friends who are so awed by the antics of Mahathir, I say that their hero is taking them into all sorts of the wrong places. Malaysia need not be so divided and for so long, 52 years of unabated nonsense of race discrimination that has led to nowhere ! Has Malaysia prospered in this very long time ? It took the People's Republic of China a mere 25 or more like 20 years end to end to lift 450 million Chinese who had previously lived in dire poverty, but now celebrate their upliftment into a prosperous middle class. Why has Malaysia, in spite of their abundant natural resources lagged behind in spite of having good times in those 52 years ? The reason is answered by the author of "MAVERICK". I myself have not read that book but I will try to find sufficient enthusiasm to read it in time. I always believe that I may at most have another 3 to 4 years of life left, so what the hack, why so much knowledge to take to my grave ? The author has done his homework well, but then all of us already know that everyone of those grandiose projects with grand sounding names have all gone fucking bust ! How can Malaysia prosper if none of our national investment end up in the pockets of Mahathir & his cronies ?

I am Chinese and I congratulate all my Chinese brothers who have prospered, and on this occasion I wish to draw the attention of Malay Malaysians who think UMNO is their saviour ! Why did the government of PM Najib issue SPORTS TOTO licence to a Chinese ? Why did you Malays did not issue this licence to a Malay Company ? I will tell you why because a licence issued to Malays, there is no kick back for the ministers to profit. Is this the first time that such an inconsistency ever take place ? No, I can tell you that this has been and still the pattern of corruption that has placed the Chinese in the position to prosper ! Who are the ones who have issued this licence ? Malay Ministers who else and who are they MALAY POLITICIANS FROM UMNO. I say UMNO and not mention B n is because the MCA is nothing but a running dog for UMNO.

Yes UMNO demonises the Chinese and call them names, but we will always smile, why get angry when we are in fact the people who have and will always will benefit from UMNO politicians, who when they are given economic privileges, will always LOOK FOR A CHINESE TO RUN THE BUSINESS. Malays just are not made for doing business, there is nothing to be ashamed off because god did not make all men equal. LOOK AT ALL THE MALAY RETIREES WHO HELD IMPORTANT POSITION IN THE GOVERNMENT and retired Malay Ministers, where are they now ? Go look for them in the many Chinese owned business and your will find them as company directors makan gaji buta !

I am sure my Chinese brothers will piss in my face for writing this as fact, because I am opening the eyes of the Malays that for all of these 52 years of independence, MALAYS HAVE NOT PROGRESS MEANINGFULLY. All these talk of Malay progress under AFFIRMATIVE ACTIONS is so much UMNO spin; Malays are today worst off because they have not developed any meaningful survival skills, and now it is even too late.

Yes the chinese have found their way in spite of adversity brought on by the sheer cunning of this Mahathir fellow. He was not looking out for the Malays, but merely built a structure to entrench his political power base. Why is it the Mahathir has only done business with chinese people and to cap it all if Mahathir is so dead against the Chinese then why is it that his son is married to a Chinese ? Why did Mukhriz marry a Chinese girl ? Why did Mukhriz not marry a Malay girl ? Malay girls are ketuanan Melayu so why marry a Chinese ?

The UMNO model to prosper Malays lacks common sense and to anyone who has even a grain of intelligence, the NEM or whatever bullshit UMNO model to prosper the Malays end up prospering the Chinese ! That is why the Malays remain where they are at still holding their palm out for bakshish ! If UMNO survives another term in government, there won't be anything left to salvage at all and Malaysia will remain where she is at, this very moment. Open your eyes, it is UMNO that has made the Chinese rich !

Yes there are rich Malays but only MONEY RICH ! Malays as entrepreneurs do not EXIST as a class; there are no Malay wealth generators ! Malays as entrepreneurs; NO FUCKING CRITICAL MASS. Not having a class of entrepreneurs, Mahatir goes on to blame the Chinese and say that Chinese will not share their business with the Malays and that is the fucking fault of the Chinese ! The statement in of of itself is shit nonsense ! Only a damned fool will even dare to mouth such nonsense.

UMNO has been in government for 52 years and if Malays are to save themselves from the death grip of UMNO; they ought to give DSAI a chance and try to save the Malays from themselves !